SALTY MATTERS By Babatunde Olugboji
In Matthew 5:13 – 16 Jesus addressed His disciples thus: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
This week, we will start examining this treatise, in light of our role in the society, as believers.
Having completed the character requirements for the citizens of His kingdom in the beatitudes, Jesus now delivered the job description. From the salt and hill metaphors, Jesus made it clear that as believers, we have a mission, and our life is meant to be filled with purpose. No believer should ever feel worthless or without significance because God has granted the challenge of impacting others. Jesus’ words about salt and light demonstrate this truth. No description provides a more apt description of the believer than these.
When Jesus said his disciples are the salt of the earth, He provided them with an expression which has become the greatest compliment that can be paid to any human being.
Have you noticed that when we wish to stress someone’s solid worth and usefulness, we sometimes say of them: “People like that are the salt of the earth?”
In the time of Jesus, salt was connected in people’s minds with some special qualities and this week, we’ll start examining some of those qualities:
- Salt was connected with purity. The Romans said that salt was the purest of all things because it came from the purest of all things, the sun, and the sea. So then, if the believer is to be the salt of the earth, he or she must be an example of purity. The Christian cannot withdraw from the world, but he must, as James said, keep himself “unstained from the world” (James 1:27).
- In the ancient world salt was the commonest of all preservatives. It was used to keep things from going bad, to hold putrefaction at bay. Salt preserves from corruption. If the Christian is to be the salt of the earth, he must have a certain antiseptic influence on life. The Christian must be the cleansing antiseptic in any society in which he or she happens to reside. As believers, we must have such an effect on the world, to resist the corrupting effects of sin and help make the world a better place to live.
So as Christians, by our lives and instructions, we are to keep the world from moral corruption. By bringing down the blessing of God in answer to prayers, and by our influence and example, we can help save the world from universal vice and crime.
- Salt lends flavor to things. Food without salt is a sadly insipid and even a sickening thing. Christianity is to life what salt is to food. Christianity lends flavor to life. Remember the expression, ‘salt to taste?’
To be continued.
Have a great week.
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